Pregnancy and Mental Health

I have never shied away here on my site when it comes to mental health. It is a subject that I am passionate about discussing because it affects my life every single day. The reason for this post today is because pregnancy is a life changing thing which can have massive implications on mental health. Now that I am entering the latter stages of my pregnancy, I thought that this would be  good opportunity to sit down and speak honestly with you guys. In this post I will discuss how I’ve been managing my mental health, the prior treatment that I have had and what has helped. So, without further ado, here is my deep dive into pregnancy and mental health.

 

 

How I was prior.

Before getting pregnant, my mind was in overdrive. I think that even though I assumed that I would never be able to have children. That anxiety each month of still not conceiving even though we weren’t using protection always bothered me. I think even when I wasn’t aware of it, it would play on my subconscious. But that panic then spiralled into pretty much everything that I was doing. I always seemed to be in that heightened state of ‘fight’ mode.

 

How I have been during.

Since getting pregnant, I have to admit that I have been ok. I feel worries and still get anxious, just as I always have. However, I am recognising that I am not falling into those deep spirals as I have done previously. Whether that is my subconscious giving my body a break so that I can care for the baby effectively. Whatever it may be, for the first time in a very long time, I do feel like I am in a really positive headspace.

 

The treatment that I have undergone.

Last year I shared lots of posts regarding CBT. After reaching out to my GP, I spoke with a mental health doctor who referred me for CBT. I was on the waitlist for almost 8 months before I could get an appointment for CBT via the doctors. Once I started, I quickly realised why CBT was such a divided mental health aid. Their plan was to try and get to the root cause of my mental health issues. But what I felt like I needed was the tools that I needed to combat the darker days of my struggles. All in all, I didn’t feel like CBT helped much with my pregnancy and mental health.

 

What I am currently doing.

At the moment, I am not undergoing CBT. Mainly because my therapist completely ghosted me. But also, because I am not sure that it was the best solution for how I was feeling. However, at the moment, I am leaning on those around me. I have always believed that a problem shared is a problem halved. Whatever I am feeling, I am using the network around me to unload the problem and I instantly feel better about it. Most of the time they don’t know how to help me, but just voicing my concerns can help me feel lighter.

 

My future plans.

When it comes to the future, I am unsure. Obviously, I don’t know how I will be in terms of my mental health once our little baby is here. My OCD automatically makes me worry about getting post-natal depression. My mind instantly snaps to worse case scenario all of the time. So even though I will do everything to ensure that I am in a positive mindset, with mental health you can never be sure. If something like that does happen, the people within my support network know how to step in and help me. I absolutely know that they would do anything needed to ensure both baby and I were ok.

 

I hope that you guys enjoyed reading this post about pregnancy and mental health. During my journey to get pregnant, the toll that it may take on my mental health was continuously on my mind. It wasn’t until somebody reminded me that worrying about being a mentally stable parent, shows how committed I am to providing the best level of care for my baby. Mental health is never straight forward, but with open communication and understanding, we can all reach a good place. I would love to hear from you guys on this. Do you have any comments about pregnancy and mental health? Were you ok throughout?